Bengali Dal

I am always looking at ways to vary my dal. And then I stumbled on a recipe which seasons the dal with panch phoron. Panch phoron, a spice mixture commonly used in Bengali cooking, is made by mixing equal parts of fennel seeds (saunf), mustard seeds (rai), nigella seeds (kalonji), cumin seeds (zeera), and fenugreek seeds (methi). This dal was replete with flavors I was so unaccustomed to. The fennel seeds give the dal a unique simple flavor and pairs up with the tangy dried mango powder so well.

The spice mixture is a colorful medley- black nigella, green fennel, golden fenugreek, brown cumin and mustard. The spice mixture is fried in oil to release the aroma and the seeds are allowed to pop. This spice mixture should also work with spinach, potatoes, and other lentils.


1 cup channa dal
3 cups water
1 tbspn dried mango powder
2 dried red chillies
1/2 tspn turmeric powder
1 tspn coriander powder
1 tspn salt
1 tbspn panch phoron
1 tspn fennel seeds

1. Pressure cook the channa dal with water, salt, turmeric, and coriander powder.
2. In a small pan heat some oil. Add the panch phoron and fennel seeds. Wait till they splutter.
3. Add the red chilies after breaking them open.
4. Add the fried mango powder.
5. Add the oil and spice mixture to dal.
6. Garnish with coriander.